Come Back 戻ってくる
by rinadin
Summary: Moving on without Gin is proving to be very taxing on Hotaru. But, when Hotaru finally seems to "pull through," something calls her back to the forest - back to the place they first met. Expect frequent updates! Remember to review if you read, please. I do not own Hotarubi no Mori e - copyright belongs to Yuki Midorikawa and Studio Brain's Base.
1. Depression 低地

Nothing will ever make me forget the last night I shared with Gin. Likewise, nothing can ever fill this gaping pit in my soul that dissolved into the forest air along with him that fateful summer night. Sometimes I bring myself to wonder if everything would have been better if it never happened; would this pain that now rots within my heart be gone if I never met Gin? Even so, a life without Gin was unimaginable to me.

At school the teachers complained about my sudden lack of focus when I came back that year after summer break. Previously, after my summertime adventures with Gin came to a close and I went back home, school would be when I began to dream about what Gin and I would do next year; in fact, I even had a notebook chock full of pages describing things to do with Gin and even letters for Gin that I never gathered the courage to give to him in the summer. Now all I do is stare outside with a pair of sullen, glassy eyes; everything was hard to stomach without Gin in the picture.

I wanted to be with Gin.

Gin wanted to be with me, too, right?

Suddenly my life was falling apart, starting with academics – my grades plummeted. My parents squabbled behind my back about me, blaming each other for my poor academic conduct; people I thought were my friends all of the sudden brushed me aside or told me I wasn't myself and abandoned me altogether. My life hit rock bottom fast.

I managed to gather the willpower to bring up my grades in school (for my parents' sanity as well as my own.) I ended up focusing only on school, so much so I didn't have time to think about Gin. Slowly, I recovered, my 'friends' sulked back and life was 'normal' again.

But then summer came around again. I visited my grandfather in the countryside.

And before I knew it, the forest had lured me in...

This time, without Gin waiting for me at the entrance.


	2. Tranquility 平穏

Nothing has changed about this place. Tall grass danced around in the lazy summer breeze as cicadas sang their everlasting song for all to hear. I took in a deep, long breath of the clean country air. A warm, bittersweet feeling overwhelmed my senses.

Summer smells like Gin.

Before I had time to let myself cry, I moved forward, through the traditional gate that marked the entrance to the forest of the mountain god. The summer zephyr nipped playfully at my heels until it got hold of the hem to my sundress; as if being tugged on, my dress billowed in front of my me.

Oh, that's right. This place wasn't normal, like the world I come from; this is a special place where spirits dwell. Was this summer breeze a spirit, too? I felt my mouth form a ghost of a smile as I let myself get lost in the forest that held so many of my memories.

"I saw Hotaru!"

"Hotaru?"

"It's Hotaru!"

I could hear the spirits' many murmurs all around me in the dense forest, yet none approached me. The sun danced through the forest canopy, shining a brilliant green shadow as a wandered around with the dry summer grass crunching beneath my feet. For some reason, instead of becoming downhearted by my visit to the forest of the mountain god I was uncharacteristically tranquil. I felt at peace here; something about how the sun shined in and around this forest was thawing my heart.

Suddenly, the breeze that was guiding me let go to frolic amongst the forest clearing filled with wildflowers. I wandered out into the midst of the clearing and sat down in a bed of flowers; the invisible, playful spirit wisped around the nape of my neck, causing my hair to float and furrow behind me.

And then I laughed.

Not a forced laugh, a real one.

"Hotaru..."

I turned around to lock eyes with a familiar spirit. He was the first spirit I met – a mischievous fox that liked to scare others, but was quite the scaredy cat himself.

I immediately altered my position to kneel and bow respectfully to him.

"I mean no disrespect by coming here, I prom–!"

The spirit ceased my rambling by raising his hand. Nervously, I continued to bow.

"You are an honored guest here; please do not bow, Hotaru."

When I finally looked up he was wearing such a warm, gentle smile.

This was the place Gin grew up; these were the beings that raised him.

I felt tears burning in the corners of my eyes but I blinked them back. I nodded to the fox spirit and stopped bowing. Even though I was human, the spirits trusted me because of Gin.

"Your escort seems to like you." The fox spirit chortled.

I scrunched up my face in a confused manner. Oh, he was referring to the little breeze? I heard myself let out a soft laugh of agreement as the wind swirled around my head, playing with my hair. I giggled something along the lines of 'stop it' when the breeze blurred my vision by blowing around my hair too wildly. When I could see again, the fox spirit was gone.

I took another deep breath of country air and exhaled. I let myself lay down in the bed of flowers and slowly drift into a peaceful sleep as my new wind spirit friend swirled around me.

I felt at home here.


	3. Nostalgic 懐かしい

When I finally woke up it was already dark. I let out a yawn and brushed flower petals off my face as I sat up; the wind spirit happily blew at my bangs, causing them to shuffle around gently on my forehead. I smiled and asked: "So you stayed with me this whole time?"

As if to confirm my question, the little breeze swirled around me, sending dozens of flower petals flying around me. Even though I couldn't see the little spirit, his company was refreshing as well as comforting.

"I should probably get going... grandpa might worry." I told nobody in particular as I lifted myself up and brushed more petals off my dress. In distress, the wind spirit swirled around me and blew my back gently; my sundress rippled around me like a wave.

"Don't worry, I'll come back tomorrow." I told him, feeling terribly nostalgic. Happily the breeze sent me off. A few stray green summer leaves floated around me as a farewell from the spirit when I exited the forest.

As I walked on the path to my grandfather's house, fireflies buzzed around in the crisp summer night air, and the cicadas were still singing as loud as ever. Before I knew it, I was surrounded by dozens of the luminescent insects. Their glow was an odd yellow-green, but at the time I didn't pay attention to it; I was enthralled by how they gathered around me, giving me this aura of light as I walked back.

It was almost as if they were seeing me home safely.

"Hotaru!" I heard my grandfather call out; with his words, the fireflies vanished.

I smiled sheepishly at his worried face, "Ah, I'm sorry – I fell asleep in the forest."

The old man exhaled deeply and patted me on the back lightly.

"You really love that forest, don't you?" Grandpa smiled, his eyes glistening in the moonlight.

"Yes."

That night I dreamed of Gin. I was sleeping on his lap peacefully as he gingerly moved stray pieces of hair out of my face; he looked at me with an expression that I could only describe as 'warm.'

He bent down as far as he could with me in his lap and whispered:

"_I love you, Hotaru_


	4. Friendship 友情

The next day I was woken up rudely by my aunt who decided to wake me up extra early by opening the blinds. I screeched when the blinding light seemingly burned into my eyes, even with my eyelids shut; squirming, I dug myself back into my covers, desperately trying to reclaim my dreams.

"HO – TA – RU!" My aunt whined, tugging at my futon. I rolled out onto the tatami mats, pathetically clinging to my blanket. I heard her sigh dramatically before I felt something soft hit the back of my head.

I opened my eyes and let out a grumpy groan. My aunt threw a pillow at me? I let out a long, drawn-out yawn and stretched. After I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes I folded up my futon and blanket and placed them in the corner of my room with my pillow on top of it. The incense burner I lit to negate mosquitoes last night was placed beside my futon and bedding and the burned-out incense was thrown in the rubbish bin.

"Urgh, I'm a mess..." I told my reflection in the mirror as I inspected my dark circles and bed-head.

Cold water finally woke me up completely; I shook my hands dry and patted the cool liquid off my face before reaching for my brush. My hair was longer than it had ever been in my life; as a remembrance of Gin, I swore to never cut my hair again. Now my brown hair swept easily below my shoulder-blades... funny how fast it grew in just a year.

Did I look different because of my hair? Previously, I never wanted to cut my hair in fear that Gin wouldn't recognize me immediately – silly, but true. I smoothed out my bangs and pulled my hair into a ponytail...

"Hotaru, aren't you going to have breakfast?" Grandpa asked as I snatched a picnic basket from the kitchen counter; I had already packed my food for today because I wanted to go back to the forest of the mountain god as soon as possible.

"No, I got to get to the forest as soon as possible, bye!" I said, sliding the front door shut before he could have time to reply.

Unlike yesterday, puffy white clouds hung in the sky. As I walked along the forest path sometimes the clouds would cover the sun, shading me temporarily from the exhausting heat of the summer sun. Cicadas chirped all around while I climbed the many stone steps that led to the entrance to the forest.

Suddenly, the summer breeze whipped at my sundress and whirled around my head, causing my ponytail to swirl about softly in the air.

"Hotaru, you came back!" I heard a child's voice say with glee; a small whirlwind twisted me around until I laid eyes on a small boy.

"Who are you?" I asked lamely with a sheepish smile plastered on my face.

The child pouted at my words, "We met yesterday, remember?"

"Um..." I heard myself say as I stared dumbfounded at the boy.

"My name is Kafuu," The boy stated, "With the character 'summer/natsu' for 'ka' and 'wind/kaze' for 'fuu'!" He seemed pretty proud of himself when he explained how to write out his name in kanji.

I knelt down to his eye-level, "So your name means summer wind? What a pretty name, Kafuu."

Kafuu beamed and all of the sudden he disappeared in a wisp of wind. The playful summer breeze swirled around me and tickled my cheeks. I giggled, and suddenly Kafuu was back before my eyes.

"I see, so you're a little wind spirit, the one that took care of me yesterday?" I concluded.

The wind spirit nodded enthusiastically. Then he stopped, his eyes glued to my wicker picnic basket.

Kafuu's stomach growled audibly.

"I think it's time to eat!" I stated, somehow holding back laughter as I gazed upon the little boy's blushing face.


	5. Exhaustion 消耗

Kafuu gnawed happily on a slice of freshly cut watermelon that I brought. Instead of eating it right away, the little spirit sucked contently at the moist meat of the fruit. When I asked him why, Kafuu explained that wind spirits loved water – this was because they tended to dry up quickly because they were mostly made up of hot air.

The little spirit grinned through a mouthful of watermelon before spitting out a couple of seeds.

"So, Kafuu..." I leaned back into the shade of the tree we were resting under, "Are you really my 'escort'?"

The boy froze at my words. All of the sudden, Kafuu sat his empty watermelon slice aside to turn to me with the most serious face he could muster. Now that the little spirit was finally still for a change I noticed how brilliantly green his eyes were and how blonde and sunny that mop of hair of his was.

"The M-Mountain God assigned me to you after Gin..." his voice broke, causing him to fumble awkwardly through such an important statement. Poor little Kafuu couldn't even finish when he saw my face fall at just Gin's name.

I looked away from Kafuu to let his words sink in. I forced myself to inhale and exhale deeply in hopes of calming myself down; I couldn't break down in front of Kafuu.

"So, what do you want to do today?" I smiled causing the boy to beam and transform in a flash to his wind form; he playfully spun around me as if he was saying 'let's play!'

The day ended quickly, and like before Kafuu saw me off at the edge of the forest, where the stone stairs began down. I smiled and waved bye to the little spirit and headed home to collapse onto my futon without even eating dinner.


	6. Electricity 電気

**AN: This chapter is dedicated to my first reviewer, animegirl545! Thanks so much, I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

Will-'o-the-wisps danced merrily in the cool country night air. Their flames lit the festival below in a hue of light blue. Dozens of traditional paper lanterns strung on strings swayed lazily above the festivities; the yellow light from the lanterns mingled with the blue of the wisps to create patches of green light throughout the festival held by spirits. Children ran through the crowds playing chase, their laughter rang into the night above all the chattering and hustling the festival produced.

I stood, glued in the midst of the busy festival path, all alone wearing my pink yukata. No matter how many people walked or rushed past me, nobody seemed to notice me. I knew where I was, of course, but something was horribly wrong.

Gin. Where was Gin?

My body moved on its own, proceeding to cut through the festival stalls and into the dark forest. Thousands of tiny yellow-green orbs of light mused playfully in the night and buzzed around me as I led myself out and away from the festival held by spirits. I had no earthly idea where I was going, but nevertheless I continued quietly into the night with the fireflies at my heels. I broke off the forest path and found myself meandering through the woods; everything would have been pitch black, if not for my dozens of luminescent friends flying around me. My feet slipped and slid awkwardly in my geta (shoes) so much so that I found it easier to take them and peel off my tabi (socks) to have the grip of my bare feet to trek up the forest as it started to slope upwards.

When I reached the top of the hill something felt strange. The night was far too quiet.

The cicadas had stopped singing.

"Hotaru..." I felt my entire being tense up at that voice; a wonderful chill slid down my spine and back that caused my stomach to flip. My eyes tore through the night and locked on a pair of soft gold eyes. I wanted to speak but my voice was caught in my throat, and instead of words a broken gasp slipped out of my mouth and my jaw fell slack at the overwhelming feelings that battled inside me, the most prevalent one being shock.

Gin smiled calmly at me and looked straight into my eyes. Fireflies merrily danced around him, lighting up the muted gray fabric of his yukata. My heart was pumping on overdrive and I could barely hear him over the sound of the organ thumping in my ears, "You came back."

I had no idea what he meant by 'back,' but all I could do at the moment was stare at him with a stupid flabbergasted look on my face.

"Yeah..." I replied lamely before blurting out, "This is a dream, right?"

My eyes only belonged to Gin; dream or not I was mesmerized by him. He nodded simply to my question and held out an open, bare hand. I felt my heart skip a beat and I audibly gulped. If this was a dream, that means I could touch him, right? My feet cautiously stepped forward, closer to Gin. But if this was a dream, why was it so much like a memory; why did it feel so real? I nervously lifted my arm and stretched it forward until my hand hovered above his open palm. His pale, almost porcelain skin gave off a ghostly glow from the dozens of luminescent insects and moonlight. I was too scared to touch him. Even if this was a dream, what if I touched him and he was gone? Tears burned in my eyes and began to well up, threatening to overflow.

Gin snatched my hand out of the air and without hesitation pulled me closer to him. I barely had time to register what was going on until I realized we were so close I could feel his breath fan against the bridge of my nose. His eyes held a strange look that felt almost wild and his pupils dilated the closer he pulled me to him. Tears started streaming down my face and I stupidly smiled at Gin. He looked as if he was concentrating hard on something, but his face faltered for a moment when I started crying.

"I'm going to wake up, aren't I?" tears dripped down my face, but some hung to my eyelashes; the salty liquid beaded into down each lash and formed droplets at the ends. I started to hiccup as my crying got stronger, but all Gin did was stare at me as if I was the most interesting thing in the world; his eyes were glazed over and glassy, like he was under some sort of spell. I let out a pathetic sniffle and looked down at our feet, ashamed.

I felt Gin's grip on my hand tighten and his other hand came to rest on the small of my back. He placed my hand over his heart, and when I looked up at him those pale gold eyes of his no longer held a glassy look. They burned into me and sent a shiver down my spine that made me go weak in the knees. I dug my fingers into his yukata as I clenched and clung hard onto the material in hopes try hold myself up; all the while I was lost in his pale gold eyes. Gin closed the distance between our bodies by pulling me in so that our bodies were flush against each other.

It was then when I noticed how hot my cheeks were.

"I won't let you wake up yet." Gin's breath tickled my skin. We both stood there, frozen in time for what seemed like forever. Those pale gold eyes pierced right into my soul and the following happened by some unspoken mutual agreement through our eyes alone.

Gin tilted his head at an angle and leaned in and brushed his lips on mine. My eyelids started to fall, and before I knew it my eyes were closed and my eyelashes were painting tears on Gin's skin. Then, at the same time, we both closed the gap between us completely. His lips pressed gently against mine and I pressed just as gently back. I felt myself fall into him, and in reply Gin just squeezed me tighter. The electricity of the kiss traveled throughout my body until I felt numb with some strange feeling I couldn't quite describe. The kiss was innocent and simple, yet it was a lengthy expression of love that felt far too overdue. Gin's hand abandoned the small of my back and he broke the kiss to wipe my tears gingerly off my face.

Every touch he gave me was gentle, as if I could break at any given moment. His hands shook slightly, but I could barely notice over the bubbling cauldron of feelings that stirred within my stomach. I felt hot inside and out and all I wanted was for Gin to kiss me again. I must have looked terribly distraught, for he let go of my hand and brought both of his up to my face to cup my cheeks in his palms.

"Gin, I..." My voice was dripping with desperation that it almost sounded like a moan. Everything was so overwhelming at the moment; every nerve in my body stung with this wonderful feeling but also felt numb and sore at the same time. Nothing made sense except Gin's eyes, so I kept gazing into them.

He moved his right hands to press his index finger on my lips. Gin was beaming with such a content look on his face; I could swear I saw quite a tinge of pink burning on his cheeks through the dimly lit forest and yellow-green fireflies.

"I wanted to do this when I was alive," his voice was barely above a whisper as he relinquished his finger and slid his hand back to rest on my cheek, "There were plenty of times I almost lost myself and actually did it..."

"You wanted to... do this?" I murmured stupidly. At the moment my brain was a texture akin to mochi; all the things I thought of saying and doing if some brilliant miracle like this happened all went out the window and all my remaining thoughts were reduced to mush. Gin chuckled and brushed his lips against my forehead lovingly before he hummed a 'mmhm' in response to my question.

Gin nuzzled into my hair and inhaled deeply.

"You'll come back to see me, right? At this place..." his words tickled my scalp.

I nestled into the soft skin of his neck and exhaled dreamily. Gin visibly tensed at what I could only guess as a reaction to my breath on his neck; he softened within a few seconds and the muscles in his neck relaxed once more. I closed my eyes and smiled into his skin.

"How will I find it?"

I opened my eyes. As if on cue, the millions of fireflies floating about started to circle around us; their light painted the pair of us in an ethereal yellow-green gleam. Gin held up his wrist that had a sash tied around it; this action pulled at my wrist, which lifted along with his. Somehow, my wrist also was tied.

The sash was like the one we used at the festival, but this one was dyed a deep, brilliant red.

"We're connected, Hotaru," Gin stated simply and the sash faded slowly into the night until it was completely invisible. My wrist fell as soon as the sash faded. "Just follow the fireflies."

I nodded and, with the hand that had the now-invisible sash tied to it, I took his hand and squeezed it. Gin chuckled again sweetly and responded with a soft squeeze to my hand.

Then something strange happened. Gin's body slumped and I heard him groan in pain. I snapped into reality and, since I didn't have the strength to hold him myself, eased him into the grass. I knelt beside Gin and watched him coughed up something into his hand. I snatched his hand without thinking and saw...

"Blood." I stated blankly. Then panic set in and my eyes widened, "Gin, y-you coughed up blood."

"Hotaru..."

I clasped his hand in mine before leaning closer to his face.

"Come see me again..."

And then I woke up.


	7. Downpour 土砂降り

Cold sweat dripped down the nape of my neck. I sat up with wide eyes as my chest heaved up and down quickly. Shock washed over me and the feeling drenched the entirety of my body.

"_Come see me again..."_ Gin's voice chanted in my head over and over. I held my head to try to stop the world from spinning; that dream had felt too real, I could still feel the ghost of our kiss on my lips.

I had a crazy idea and half of my mind told me not to do it, that it was completely absurd and all that would come from it would be frustration and tears. That was my sane side talking. Currently I was in quite the whimsical mood – anything could be possible to me in this mindset, and even the slightest possibility of seeing Gin moved me into action.

"_Just follow the fireflies..."_ I forced myself to stand with wobbling knees. My hands groped through the darkness for the ceiling light's pull-string; suddenly I grasped the cool metal string and the light buzzed to life. What time was it? I dug my travel clock out of my bag – the time read '11:24 p.m.'

I pulled on the first thing I grabbed in my bag (blue jeans and a plain top) and tugged a pair of socks on my feet before slipping on a pair of sneakers. Hastily, I pulled my hair into a messy bun and turned off the light. I slowly slid open the door to be greeted by silence. Great, everyone was asleep. I snuck out of my room and down the hall and picked up the house keys, which I jammed in my jean pocket.

The front door slid open with quietly and I exited, locked the door, and made my way to the forest path.

At first I was walking normally, then the walk escalated to a half-hearted jog. By the time I was near the entrance of the forest I was in an all-out run. As soon as I stepped through the traditional Japanese gate that marked the entrance of the forest, thousands of fireflies swarmed around me.

I didn't even give myself time to think; I immediately followed the glowing bugs through the forest. My lungs burned and the muscles in my legs screamed as I pushed my body to my limits as I tore through the forest, guided by the fireflies; all I could hear was my heart racing in my ears and my panting.

Then all of the sudden it started to drizzle. By the time I reached the upwards slope of the woods rain poured down in large pellets that actually stung when they hit; I grimaced at the muddy hill, but nevertheless climbed awkwardly up through the slippery mud. When I reached the top I was covered in mud from the knees down. My sweat mixed with rain as it dripped down my face and my bun that was now completely undone slapped wet hair on my back. I looked up to see...

No one. Just a dark, empty place with trees.

"I'm an idiot..." I hissed under my breath. Of course there was nobody, that was only a dream.

I was about to turn around and go home when I heard a cough. My eyes darted around like mad, searching the forest – it was almost pitch black, and because of the rain my luminescent friends had fallen back to find shelter. It was no use trying to use my eyes so I called out as loud as I could, "Hello?"

Silence. Then, I heard something that I couldn't really make out.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw something move; taken aback, I lost my footing and fell onto the ground. Thankfully I was able to catch myself so I didn't have a face full of mud to look forward to cleaning when I got home. I looked up and froze.

A staggering figure had emerged from behind a tree. I could barely make them out, but something told me they were in pain. They coughed again, confirming my suspicions.

"Hotaru..." My heart literally stopped beating; that was Gin's voice. Great, I was going crazy.

Oh well, I might as well go on with my insanity, seeing as I've stooped to that level, "G-Gin?"

Rain had drenched the both of us to the bone; even if it was summer, the rain could easily give someone the chills. The figure continued forward until I could see their face.

A sickly Gin smiled at me, "I didn't think that would work, but you came..."

I was unsure how to even handle this situation. Was I still dreaming? What in the world was going on? I slowly picked myself up from the ground and approached him.

Without thinking I blurted out, "Can I touch you?"

Rain dripped down Gin's sopping wet white hair.

"Yes..." He looked so worn out and weak, even thinner than usual. Cautiously I took his hands in mine and smiled sadly at him.

I was going to cry any moment now.

"This is a dream." I gulped back tears; this is a dream I just know it. But I saw Gin shake his head and chuckle that sounded like a wheeze.

"It's real, Hotaru. This is real."

I didn't know what to say.

"Gin..." He pressed his forehead against mine and held it there; he looked tired, yet serene with his eyes closed so close to me. I let out a choppy sigh and subconsciously brushed my lips against his.

And then I realized what I was doing and stopped. Gin's eyes were open and staring at me.

"I-I'm sorry, I..." Gin chuckled and silenced me with his lips. Our noses awkwardly dug into one another, causing him to take initiative and cock is head to the side. Tears poured down my face; this was too good to be true – everything was going to vanish and I was going to be all alone...

Gin broke the kiss and looked at me with concern, "Hotaru, you're shaking."

"If this is real, say something." I croaked.

"Something."

"Gin, that's not helping..." He chuckled and pulled me into his chest and held me close. I don't know why, but I started sobbing; I dug my fingers into his shirt and just cried for what seemed like hours.

Was I happy?

Was I sad?

What was I?

Eventually I calmed down and we moved under a tree; I sat in Gin's lap and refused to let go of him.

Likewise, Gin refused to let go of me.

"Don't leave."

"I don't plan to." Gin replied before coughing again. His coughing broke me out of fantasy-land and into reality.

"Gin, what's wrong?" I asked looking up at Gin from his chest.

"You're so cute my body can't take it."

"Giiiiiiinnnn..." I pouted. He chuckled in response; I guess he wasn't going to tell me any time soon.


	8. High Fever 高熱

I woke up in the arms of a shivering Gin; he was shaking like a leaf in his sleep and sweat had beaded on his face. I gently eased my arm out from behind Gin's neck and pressed the back of my palm on his forehead and with a grimace I pulled it back.

Gin was burning up. I slipped out of his embrace and eased his head into my lap. The rain had finally stopped and the sun was starting to rise – that means I spent the entire night out here with Gin.

"Hey..." I whispered and pushed back his bangs to reveal his forehead; he stirred at my voice and opened his eyes. A sheepish smile formed on my lips, "How are you feeling?"

What a stupid question.

Gin's face cracked a weak grin, but it was clear in his eyes that he was in pain.

"I feel great." He closed his eyes and let out a wheeze then a nasty cough.

How convincing. I rolled my eyes and leaned down to rub my nose with his,"You're sick."

Gin chuckled, "Is that so?"

I knew well enough that we couldn't stay here all day, especially not in damp clothes that were previously soaked. I motioned for Gin to get on his feet, which he did with my help. Because of his fever he could barely walk straight. "Lean on me, I'll help you walk." I meant it originally to be an offer, but it came out sounding like a command. Regardless, Gin agreed and wrapped an arm behind my neck, his hand gripping onto my shoulder; in return I wrapped an arm around his waist to support him as he walked alongside me. The extra weight to walk with was hard, but luckily Gin could still walk mostly on his own. It was obvious he was having difficulty keeping up with my pace by his heavy, raspy breathing.

"Hotaru, where are we going?"

We were almost to the entrance and exit of the forest, "My grandpa's house."

"How will you explain..." Gin's voice trailed off as he began to cough violently. God, this was getting bad. "Don't worry about it, I'll figure something out." I trudged along and groaned internally – explaining this was going to be easier said than done.

"HOTARU!" Grandpa's _lovely_ screaming greeted us at the door. The elderly man smelled strongly of black coffee and had an equally bitter scowl plastered on his face. Great, he only drank coffee when he was...

"I am very disappointed in you, young lady!" I recoiled by taking a few steps back from the door frame; Grandpa was so furious that he hadn't even registered Gin's existence. The boy in question was slumped on me, using my shoulder for support and barely even half awake. I laughed nervously.

Grandpa then noticed Gin and grimaced, but said nothing. He let out a long, drawn-out sigh and surprisingly started laughing. I really didn't know how to react to this – was he okay? Before I could say anything to the old man he had a goofy smile stuck on his face.

"So _that's_ the reason you love the forest."

"Wha-whaaat?" Heat burned at my cheeks – I was not expecting that from my grandfather!

. . .

My aunt was a nurse at the only hospital nearby, so naturally she took to looking over Gin. He was moved into my room (which was actually the guest bedroom) and I was arranged to sleep in my aunt's room with her. At the moment she was extremely fussy and kept shooing me from the room when I came to check up on Gin.

"Go take a bath, Hotaru! Look at you – you have mud all over your legs... and the socks I just bought you those for New Years!" Who gives socks as gifts on New Years anyway, Auntie? I groaned. Okay, maybe she wasn't being fussy when it came to the mud caked up and down my legs, but I was worried about Gin. I slid the door shut and made a bee-line for the washroom, almost slamming into Grandpa in the process.

He was carrying a fresh forest green yukata in his arms. The clothing was for Gin, no doubt.

"Ahh, Hotaru how is your _friend_ doing?" He teased. My cheeks flushed a soft pink causing Grandpa to chortle loudly before slapping me on the back. I tripped over my feet and barely managed not to fall over... when I looked back up my grandfather was already half way down the hall.

This was going to be a long day.


	9. Hair 髪

**AN: Thank you for all your reviews, animegirl545! I write as much as I can everyday and post them immediately when I'm done. I know how it feels to wait for weeks, even months, for a new chapter... so I take that in mind as an author. c:**

The sound of splashing water echoed throughout the bath; I sat on a stool beside the tub, soaked from sponge bathing. I let out a satisfied sigh and stretched my spine out and lifted my arms up high above my head. One good thing about visiting my grandfather's house was his large traditional Japanese washroom – the bathtub was made out of solid teak, as was everything else in the room. To be honest, it wasn't _that_ big. But, then again, anything was bigger than the tiny washroom we had back home.

I climbed into the tub and sank into the hot water. My legs finally relaxed and let their sore muscles' pain thaw away. The bath was heavenly. I let out a hearty yawn and rubbed the remaining sleep from my eyes. Then I heard a light rapping at the door. The water swished audibly when I turned to ask, "Yes?"

There was a long pause. Oh well, they must have left. I moved back to my previous position and began to ease back into the water until I heard a voice.

"Hotaru?" Gin's voice, that is.

Cue crazy splashing noises; I fumbled out of the tub and yanked the nearest towel all the while somehow avoiding falling on my face as I scrambled to the door. With the towel completely secured around my chest I cracked the door open to meet with a pair of pale gold eyes. My eyes darted to the floor.

"Shouldn't you, you know, be resting?" I laughed nervously. When I mustered the courage to look back up at Gin I saw him just staring at me. With a sheepish smile I waved my hand in front of his face and said, "Gin?"

"Sorry." He blinked out of his daze and looked away respectfully. Gin was wearing the forest green yukata that my grandfather had lent him; it looked nice.

An awkward silence hung in the air for a few minutes until he glanced back at me.

Gin was blushing.

"Your hair," He breathed slowly, "It's different."

Of all the things to say...

I giggled softly, "Of course, it's wet!"

Gin glanced back at me again, "No, not that. Is it longer?"

Oh.

"Yeah."

I could barely see his face, and before I could even try to guess what he was thinking he turned his back completely.

"Gin?" My voice was full of concern; I placed a hand on his shoulder.

He shook his head and placed a hand over mine.

"Your aunt told me to check up on you; apparently, you've been in the bath for four hours."

My eyes widened in shock. Now that he mentioned it my fingers were awfully wrinkled and raisin-like.

"Here..." Gin lifted his free hand over his shoulder; my travel bag hung limply on is index and middle finger.

. . .

"Hotaru, come here for a minute." My aunt's index finger beckoned me to her side from the kitchen. I had just finished changing into a fresh set of clothes and my hair was still wrapped up tight in a towel. I mumbled an 'eh?' and walked over to her. She was preparing left-over chicken bones for broth.

"Your friend, what's his name?" She asked, not even looking away from her task at hand; from what I could see of her face, she was concentrating hard on something.

"Gin," I stated, heat rising to my cheeks, "His name is Gin."

"Gin?" She echoed, and then repeated with exaggerated enunciation, "_Gi-n_, hmn?"

My aunt patted her hands dry with a nearby dishtowel then went and popped the lid on the electric rice maker, frowned, and then slapped the lid back down mumbling something like 'five more minutes.'

"Why?" I asked.

With mild surprise she turned to me and adjusted her glasses, "Oh, Haruko dear, I thought you already walked away!"

I shook my head but didn't say anything in response.

"It's nothing," my aunt playfully 'shooed' me to leave with a smile, "Don't worry about it."

I half-smiled and walked down the hall to the guest bedroom where Gin was resting peacefully on a futon on the floor. As quietly as I could, I tip-toed over to him on the tatami mat floor and knelt beside him. Silently, I watched his sleeping face.

He looked a lot healthier, which made me smile. I pushed back his bangs and to check his temperature, but he stirred in his sleep and caused me to pause. But he didn't wake up. I exhaled a breath of relief and raised my free hand to my forehead to compare our temperatures.

I frowned and drew back my hands. He still had a fever, even if it was a low-grade one; sweat was even starting to drip down his temple.

Gin was really here, sleeping, in front of my very eyes.

I eased the damp towel off my head and cleaned the sweat from his face. My wet hair fell in dark clumps of tendrils around my face; wind blew my now-free hair around playfully. Wait, wind? I recoiled from Gin's sleeping form and looked around the room.

"Kafuu?" I whispered to the empty room. With bubbling laughter the wind spirit materialized before me in a whisp of wind.

Gin stirred in his sleep. I turned to Kafuu with a stern look, my index finger pressed against my lips.

The little boy opened his eyes in realization and nodded. Then, he loudly whispered, "Since you didn't come today I decided to come to you!"

"Shh!" I hissed with a small smile playing on my lips. The little spirit gasped and breathed an 'oh, right!' before looking down at sleeping Gin.

"Is that Gin?" He whispered, still loudly, but a little more quiet this time around. I nodded happily and turned to look at him.

"Why is he here?"

"I don't know."

"How is he alive?"

"I don't know that, either."

Kafuu came to sit on my lap and the two of us quietly gazed at Gin.


	10. Laughter 笑い

Because of some unseen miracle, my family never asked about Gin; they just let him rest in peace in our tiny little guest bedroom. My aunt boasted to her fellow nurses at work that her shy niece found a boyfriend. Though it was embarrassing, I guess I did. I smiled to myself as I dabbed a damp towel on Gin's forehead. My aunt deduced that Gin had probably always been of a sickly disposition and had suggested I call his parents. The problem was Gin's lack of parents.

"What was Gin like when he was human?" A umbrella spirit (Kasa-Obake) echoed my question thoughtfully as it gazed up at me with its one big red eye. I nodded simply, "Yes, do you remember anything...?"

The Kasa-Obake hopped around on its one foot in a circle.

"It's been so long, Hotaru... all I really remember is that he was an infant when we found him."

Kaafu was nice enough to escort me around the forest, but by the end of the day the information we gathered about Gin just wasn't enough to put two and two together.

"Kaafu, don't you know of anybody else?" I groaned, my voice a little too exasperated; sweat was trickling down from my forehead and I had bug bites in some of the most obscure places on my body. Needless to say, I wasn't in the best mood for slow progress.

The wind spirit looked sheepishly at me, "Well, there is one more person we could ask..."

"Who?"

Kaafu nodded his head towards the path that lead higher up the mountain.

"The Mountain God."

It took me a while to register what the young wisp of wind said; instead, I stood still with my feet planted to the ground with my neck arched backwards so I could gaze at the peak of the mountain. The forest dubbed "The Forest of the Mountain God" was, in reality, a small collection of separate forests around and about a mountain. Though the mountain was not exceptionally tall (as mountains go, that is,) a trek to the top would probably take me at least half a day to reach the peak and the other half to get back down again.

I laughed nervously, "Surely there's someone else before we go talk to a god."

"No!" a wind-blown, messy mop of blonde hair shook madly in front of me. Kaafu was acting uncharacteristically stubborn at my proposition; I even found myself giggling when the young boy stopped shaking his head and wobbled around, almost tumbling over himself from dizziness.

Kaafu pouted and then suddenly whined, "I'm tired this, Hotaru; I want to play~!"

I let out a sigh. Even if he was a spirit that didn't pardon him from being a child; I should have known Kaafu would become antsy sooner or later.

"I'm sorry, Kaafu," I cooed as I ruffled his already messy mane, "But, this is really important to me."

The little wind spirit giggled; the sound of his laughter was so innocent and clear, like a medley of silver bells ringing. Every time the little boy laughed that sound was almost enough to forget everything worrisome. I almost felt guilty for not playing with him... spirit or not, he was just a little boy.

"Come on, let's go home!" I scooped up Kaafu; the wind spirit let out a tiny shout of surprise before spouting a thousand bubbling giggles. I tickled his tummy and gained a loud roar of laughter in response.

"St-Stop, Hotaru!" Kaafu panted. I relinquished my hold on the little boy and beamed down at him.

"We can smash a watermelon open when we get home."

"Really?! Alright!"

**AN: **I'm so sorry for my lateness, as you read this I'm writing the next chapter. Thank you for those who have sticked around this long.


	11. Melt 溶ける

**AN:** A short chapter before I get into some of the deeper stuff.

When Kaafu and I finally returned to my grandfather's home we were greeted by Gin. He was holding a simple, circular fan and leaning against one of the wooden beams that belonged to the porch. Before I knew it I was beaming like an idiot; Kaafu made a disgusted face and muttered something along the lines of 'cooties' before swooshing off to find the nearest watermelon to assault.

"H-hi." was all I could say to Gin; I heard my voice crack and I scowled internally. He smiled gently at me; his pale gold eyes lingered on me for a few moments before returning to the sunset.

"I woke up and you weren't there."

His words soaked me with guilt until I was drenched with the feeling. My stupid grin slid of my face and I looked sadly to the white-haired young man. Gin continued to look silently up at the sky; his face was calm and serene... his pale skin did not appear so sickly in the buttery sunset. For some reason I wanted to cry - my voice hitched in my throat, causing me to produce an awkward screech-like noise.

Gin chuckled at my behavior; I pouted, but then looked seriously to him.

"I'm sorry." I daringly grasped his free hand; Gin turned to me with a face full of warmth and gingerly squeezed my hand affectionately. Heat rose to my cheeks when I suddenly realized what I just did. I giggled nervously.

Gin raised my hand to his chin and lured my eyes to his, "Hotaru, I love you."

I felt my shyness melt away; it was replaced by a wonderful numbing sensation that rushed over me, "I know; I love you, too."

He pecked a kiss on my hand before relinquishing it.

And we just stared at each other.

"HO-TA-RU!"

I literally jumped out of fright and Gin chuckled.

Doesn't anyone know the meaning of privacy around here?


	12. Breath 息吹

**Author's Note (Nov 2011)** **- I'm sorry for the long wait, I've been in hiatus for a long time with this story. But, since one of you contacted me on tumblr I thought I'd go ahead and step back up to the plate. Since I have a general idea how I want this story to go, I'm going to deliver to you what I can. It's not like I'm busy, I was just waiting for the will to write to come back. So now, because of you, my readers, it is back.**

Early in the morning I woke up to something... rather unexpected.

Warm air tickled the nape of my neck. I rubbed my eyes and blinked a few times.

Someone was holding me; and rather tight at that. Now that I was fully awake I realized I was leaned into another's body, their arms wrapped around my waist.

I didn't even have to look over at them, I knew who it was.

"G-Gin." my voice came out squeaky and tired.

A gentle murmur that I didn't catch replied. Gin nestled his head into the crook of my neck, his lips practically touching my skin.

"Gin...!" this time my voice was not as squeaky, just tired.

I tried to move but his grip just tightened on my waist.

"Gin!" I hissed, craning my neck back to see a half-asleep Gin recoil from me.

He let go of my waist and yawned.

Suddenly my face felt hot. I realized what sort of situation we were in.

"Why are you in here, Gin?" I asked as calm as I possibly could.

"Sleeping." He chuckled, his voice full of sleep; with that said, he started inching closer to me.

"W-what's wrong with your room?" I asked, stopping him in his tracks.

Then he smiled, "You're not in it."

My opened my mouth to say something but my voice was lost in my throat. Before I knew it Gin's arms were around me and my cheek was flush with his neck.

Then I remembered what he said to me last night.

Guilt washed over me again, like I had reopened a wound.

"I'm sorry... I didn't wake you up earlier."

I felt Gin's head move to look down at me.

"Where were you?"

"I..."

"A spirit came when you were gone."

"W-what?!" I almost shouted; I pushed away from Gin so I could look him in the eye. His face was just as pained as it was serious.

"Why did you go in the forest?" Gin asked firmly.

"I had to find out something... about you." I answered slowly.

Gin's eyes narrowed, "Why not just ask me?"

"Ok... when you were human, were you ever sick?"

Gin's serious expression dropped completely. Now he just looked plain confused as he contorted his face in thought.

"I... don't remember, I was just an infant when the Mountain God turned me into a youkai."

"Do you feel any different than you did before you came back?"

"Well, I was never sick before..."

"Gin?" I breathed out softly, "I think you're human now."

Gin chuckled and said simply, "Of course I am."

My serious face faded as I watched him slowly calm down.

"Hotaru, if I wasn't human your grandpa and aunt wouldn't be able to see me."

"Huh? I could see you!"

Then he just smiled, "That's because you're special."


End file.
